Free Republic

Rethinking retirement plans for the work forceDavid Nicklaus ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH 03/03/2009 With our retirement savings system looking a bit frayed around the edges, the search is on for changes that will help workers navigate the vagaries of financial markets. Should we force people to save more, perhaps by requiring every 401(k) plan to have an automatic-enrollment feature? Should we regulate fees and account offerings more tightly? Or should we junk the 401(k) entirely and replace it with a government-guaranteed savings program? These ideas and many others have been floated amid a severe bear market that's dimming many Americans' retirement...

Reversing a last-minute Bush administration rule change, President Barack Obama said Tuesday that he'd require federal agencies to consult with government wildlife experts about whether new government projects such as highways or dams would harm endangered or threatened species. The Bush administration said in December that federal agencies could decide on their own whether their projects could go ahead... Interior employees cheered loudly. Business groups criticized the move, predicting that it would slow the review process for projects, including those funded by the just-enacted economic stimulus. Susan Holmes of Earthjustice, an environmental law firm. Jamie Rappaport Clark, a former director...

I listen to the lamentations of Republicans about the speed with which President Obama is transforming the country into the socialist model he has staked his Presidential legacy to. If you watch the method to the implementation of each policy proposal, and every action he is taking, it is clear he is checking off the items he promised the left as quickly as possible to satisfy his liberal base. People are on the talk shows exclaiming that they never knew the change would be this quick and this wide spread; that the very fabric of American capitalism would be rent...

From a "What's Up With That" AGW discussion about Arctic Ice coverage: Which satellites now measure with 2008 and 2009 at the second highest and third highest ever plotted. Data goes back only till 2000, but that sounds significant, doesn't it ? (Aside: Notice that Anti-AGW bias in reporting bare facts can go both ways? 8<) ------- "With Lake Superior frozen over in 2003 and 2009, that puts this rare event (every 20 years or so) occurring more frequently even with our alleged AGW. Notice that if you Google "Lake Superior Ice Cover" (or something similar) almost all the hits...

WASHINGTON, March 3, 2009 – Troops serving overseas will get a little bit of “Christmas in May,” thanks to a troop-support group that is collecting gifts and snacks to be mailed to them on Armed Forces Day, May 16. “This is a way to thank the troops on their special day,” Julieann Najar, founder of “A Soldier’s Wish List,” said. “There are those who seem to ‘fall between the cracks’ and are in combat zones in between the holidays and do not receive our December Christmas packages. We want to let these men and women know they are also important...

CNBC Erin Burnett discussing a gun stock  It's STURM, RUGER & CO., INC.  

Not quite Harry and Louise, but it's a start.

Fiscal Policy: Fidelity Investments' CEO calls President Obama's economic plan "New Deal II" and says it won't work any better than it did for FDR. We fear he may be right on both counts."During the '30s, Congress — with guidance from the president and the same kind of good intentions — shifted the country's cash flow away from productive business to government make-work projects, which most likely prolonged the Great Depression," Fidelity's Ned Johnson said. In fact, many economists agree that the New Deal was a formula for institutionalizing unemployment, not reducing it. Seventy-five years later, with unemployment heading to...

Microsoft has confirmed it is testing a new search engine called Kumo, based on technology from its Powerset acquisition, that is likely to be an early version of a soon-to-be-rebranded Live Search product."Microsoft is using the Kumo.com URL for internal testing purposes only," the company said via e-mail through its public relations firm Tuesday. "Given the depth and breadth of our current online service offering, we recognize a need to sharply define and align our online brands."Microsoft added that it has "nothing new to announce at this time." However, the company has been rumored for some time to be renaming...

The drones Obama voters have begun sending me photos expressing their sorrow in voting for the Won.

Forms of government explained… This video explains: Why what most of us are taught about right and leftist governments is wrong Why most long lasting governments were Republics What the Founding Fathers said about Democracies vs. Republics Why 0Bama is trying to get us in an Oligarchy http://www.wimp.com/thegovernment

The Role of Congress in the Recession of 2008 If we can but prevent the government from wasting the labours of the people, under the pretence of taking care of them, they must become happy. Their finances are now under such a course of application as nothing could derange but war or federalism. The gripe of the latter has shown itself as deadly as the jaws of the former. Thomas Jefferson, 29 November 1802 In 2008, the United States would enter a recession that was 32 years in the making. Actions taken by congress starting in 1977 would begin the...

CHICAGO (AP) -- Alongside its flashy array of triple espressos, foamy cappuccinos and half-caff extra-hot flavored lattes, Starbucks Corp. unveiled its newest coffee drink Tuesday: a cup of average, instant Joe served up for the equally proletarian price of about a dollar a cup.Hoping to convince recession-shocked customers to return to the brand that has spent years cultivating coffee connoisseurs, Starbucks is at first offering instant coffee only in Chicago and the chain's home base of Seattle. Executives hope the water-soluble "Via" -- sold in three- and 12-packs -- will reinvigorate the chain's sagging sales and profits, and give it...

ANNAPOLIS, MD (March 2, 2009) – Governor Martin O’Malley announced today the introduction of legislation that will apply a “rational reregulation” policy for energy markets in Maryland moving forward. The legislation will call for reregulation of electricity markets in Maryland moving forward when the Public Service Commission (PSC) deems it is in the best interest of consumers. “Deregulation has failed us. Today, we announce that the days of blind faith in broken, deregulated markets are over in Maryland,” said Governor O’Malley. “We will reregulate Maryland’s electricity supply going forward whenever it is in the best interests of Maryland consumers and...

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will issue a proclamation by Supervisor Mike Antonovich this morning declaring the first week of March “No Cussing Week.” Why stop there, guys? While you’re at it, let’s...

CHICAGO (AP) - Chicago police said Tuesday that the 14-year-old who posed as an officer drove a patrol car and aided in an arrest, and that seven officers face disciplinary reviews for the "lax" behavior that allowed the teen's escapade to happen. "They weren't paying attention," Superintendent Jody Weis said at a news conference announcing the completion of the investigation. "They were lax. I'm very upset. This whole incident is very disturbing." The teenager, an aspiring police officer, allegedly wore a uniform and entered a South Side police station through an unlocked back door around 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 24....

Military officers from the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines are working with California attorney Orly Taitz and her Defend Our Freedoms Foundation, citing a legal right established in British common law nearly 800 years ago and recognized by the U.S. Founding Fathers to demand documentation that may prove – or disprove – Barack Obama's eligibility to be president. Tonight -- "The Birthers" - legitimate question or nutjobs? The facts. We look at the facts. We go on the air at 9 pm ET on Radio Free AndreaJOIN ME!

President Obama’s budget director said the White House would consider using a Senate procedural tactic so that only 50 votes would be rquired to pass major healthcare and energy reforms. Peter Orszag, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, said the administration would prefer not to use the budget reconciliation process to push through its package. But he added: "We have to keep everything on the table. We want to get these.... important things done this year." Orszag called healthcare in particular "the key to our fiscal future." Orszag made the comments on ABC’s "This Week with George...

Along the path to what can ONLY be described as a new World Order, courtesy of Barack Obama and the Global Left, we will find nothing but pain and misery cloaked in feel-good platitudes. As our governments continue to grow in size and influence, they become even more unquenchable beasts that constantly require things to do, simply to justify their existence, with the ever-growing need for enormous amounts of PRIVATE money just to maintain their insatiable appetites. Make no mistake about this: Governments NEVER shrink. They NEVER say we need less intrusion into the lives of the people who pay...

John Maynard Keynes is one of the most influential and controversial economists in history. He warned of the huge burden war reparations placed on Germany and its allies after WW I. He played an integral role in establishing the post-WW II financial world. His economic theories established the impetus for governments to spend like mad during downturns. He made, lost, and made back a massive fortune in the stock market. He counted Pablo Picasso and Virginia Wolf as friends. He's done a lot. His impact on the world is extensive. But today we'll look at one of his truly lasting...